A Painting's Return
by rokhana
Summary: Set seven years after the game takes place, based on an ending where Ib made it back but Garry took too long getting out and missed his chance, becoming a painting himself. However, when an eleven year old boy named Adam stumbles into the twisted gallery, he just might have another chance to escape.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Did you hear about that art exhibition?" "Oh, yeah! Isn't that today?" "Are you guys going?" "I'll go if you go." "I have to work today." "You can go tomorrow... we're going now."

"What are you guys talking about?" The chattering group of teens turned to find a younger boy 11 years old with large blue eyes and smooth blonde hair. "What art exhibition?"

One of the girls spoke up. "Oh, hey, Adam, when did you get here?" Adam looked up at her with a completely innocent look on his face.

"I just got here. What art exhibition are you guys talking about?" A small chorus of replies met his question.

"It's an art exhibition presenting the works of Guertena." "I can't believe it's actually coming to our city though!" "Yeah, to think that such a big art exhibition would come to our small town." But one remark stood out above the rest.

"Did you guys hear the rumor about it?"

The group immediately grew quiet and interested in this little development.

One of the girls looked a little nervous. "What is it?"

"Well..." The speaker straightened out his jacket. "From what I've heard…" He looked around as if he was making sure he had everybody's attention. "It appeared in some other city several years ago... and was suddenly shut down in the middle of it." He paused for dramatic effect. The group waited for him to continue, but he didn't.

"Annnd?" The whole group seemed to be leaning in towards him.

A cheesy grin grew on the boy's face. "... That's it."

The group deadpanned. "You're an idiot." "Getting us worked up over something stupid." "Jeez... no wonder he has no friends."

"I have friends! I mean you guys are my friends, right?"

The group exchanged glances. "Oh, well look at the time..." "I think my mother is calling me!" "I ain't your friend." "Define 'friends'..."

Sarcasm filled the boy's voice. "Well, I love you guys too."

"Well, we really do have to get going." One of the girls took Adam's hand. "See you guys later."

"Bye, Sherri! Bye, Adam!"

"See you guys later! I'll go to the gallery tomorrow." The two siblings started to walk away, and Adam looked up at her hopefully.

"Can I go?"

"No." Sherri's reply was firm. Adam resorted to whining.

"But I wanna go!"

"No means no. C'mon, you know we're gonna get in trouble if we're late for supper."

* * *

Adam peered around the corner. She still had her back to him. Good. He smiled to himself, proud that he's been able to pull this off. Last night, his mother refused to make Sherri let him go with her and her friend to the gallery, so this morning, he decided that he would announce that he was going to his friend's house for a bit. But when he left, he waited outside his house until Sherri left for the gallery, and started following her, since he didn't know the way himself. After several minutes of stalking Sherri, she came to a stop in front of a house, then went up and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, another teenage girl came out, around the same age as Sherri; it was her best friend. Adam couldn't hear what they were saying, but they seemed like they were laughing. After they talked for what felt like forever, the two girls finally began to move. Adam sighed as he waited for the two girls to get a head start. After he had decided that they had moved ahead far enough he took off after them again.

* * *

"Welcome to the Guertena exhibit." A greeter said as Adam walked into the gallery. "Hey, hold on a second there." Adam stopped, realizing he was caught without supervision and without money. "Where are your parents?"

"Oh... Uhm..." Adam nervously glanced around the gallery. He spotted a couple by the reception desk and pointed to them. "They're over there." The greeter turned to look, and when he did, Adam seized the opportunity and took off running into the gallery, ignoring shouts behind him ordering him to stop. He ran down various hallways littered with works of art, dodging through the crowds, and ducked behind a sculpture, where he froze, not even allowing himself to breathe too loud. He peeked out from behind it to see the greeter walking hurriedly through the crowded hall, looking for him. He ducked back behind the sculpture and waited until the noise in the hall died down and he couldn't hear anybody, then peeked out again. There wasn't a soul in sight. Perfect. Now he could explore in peace.

He emerged from hiding and proceeded to wander around the gallery, looking at various pieces, oohing and aahing at all of the various colors and pictures. As he looked around, he realized he had wandered back to the lobby. But something was wrong. There was nobody around, not even behind the desk. Did the gallery close? He tried to look out of the windows, but they were all fogged up. Unable to keep his nervousness from building, he decided he needed to leave and hurriedly opened the entrance door to gallery. Or at least tried to. It didn't budge. He pushed against it as hard as he could, and when that didn't work, he tried pulling. Nothing. It was locked. Great. He was stuck here until somebody came back the next morning and found him. He couldn't help but shudder at the thought of the punishment he would get when he finally got home. Sherri would never let him hear the end of it. He turned around. Since he was here all night he might as well explore some more.

As he walked through the halls, a certain painting caught his eye. It caught his eye because of its placement: it was on the floor, as if it had fallen off of the wall, but it was still propped up. It was as tall as he was, and it showed a dark red hallway with various paintings on the walls. There was something strange about it. It looked... real. But it was just a painting… Right? Out of curiosity, he stuck his hand towards the painting, then gasped when it went in. A secret passage! He pulled his hand back out and contemplated whether he should go in or not. Then again, he was here all night. He shrugged and walked in.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

He started to back out when he suddenly started feeling nauseous, but he was stopped. Something was blocking his way. He turned around and froze when he saw that there was nothing behind him but a wall. The nausea was now gone, but it was quickly replaced by fear. Wasn't this the way he came in? He started feeling the wall, trying to see if maybe there was a secret button or panel he needed to push, anything to cause an opening to appear, but there was nothing. It was just a wall. He turned behind him, and stared down the dark hallway, nervousness building a fierce knot in his stomach. Something told him he shouldn't be here. He looked behind him again, confirming that his way in, or rather, his way out, was now blocked. Seeing that he had no other option, he slowly turned and started trudging down the hallway.

As he walked, he looked around and found to his surprise that there were paintings hung on the walls; the very same ones that were in the gallery. Because he was preoccupied with the paintings, he was caught off guard when he ran right into a small table that was in the middle of the hallway. The resulting crash absolutely terrified him, and he quickly shrank against the wall, scared that someone would storm down the hallway and get him in trouble for knocking it over. Yet no one came. He slowly got back up and looked at what exactly he had knocked over. The table was on its side, and the contents that were on its top were now scattered on the floor: an orange rose amidst shards of what appeared to have been a vase. Curious, he reached down and picked up the rose to see that it was indeed real. He couldn't leave it here to wilt and die, so he decided to take it with him to see if he could find another vase to put it in and tucked it in his pocket. He paused and glanced down at the pieces of the broken vase, and started brushing them towards the wall with his shoe so no one else could fall on them and get hurt, then moved the table to the wall as well. This being done, he continued on his way, even finding the occasional new painting on the walls that would cause him to stop and stare for a few minutes, then continue again.

He stopped for what must have been the fifth or sixth time, but this time it was out of confusion. There was a painting on the floor, just like the one that he had entered through. He felt hope start to rise in his chest, and hurried over to the painting, only to have disappointment quickly take over. It didn't show the gallery; it was just the Lady in Red painting that he had already seen before. Even so, he put his hand on it. It didn't go through. He sighed, then realized something. Her eyes had moved. They were staring at his hand. He froze, staring at the painting. Had he imagined it? ...He had to, paintings couldn't-

He screamed when she suddenly grabbed for his hand, viciously hissing. He tried to back away, but she had a firm grip, and he only pulled her with him. She started to claw her way up his arm, and she swiped at the rose that was sticking out of his pocket, causing a petal to fall off. He inhaled sharply as pain burst down his side. She must've hit him when she attacked the rose. She let go of his arm and jumped down to the floor. Seeing his chance, he backed away and started running, but quickly increasing pain slowed him down. How could she hurt him? She wasn't close to him now, right? He looked behind him to make sure, and he was right; she was a short distance behind him, tearing at the orange rose. It must have fallen out of his pocket when she attacked. After a moment, he realized that each new burst of pain was synchronized with each petal falling off of the rose. Were they connected? If they were, he didn't have much more time to find out. There weren't that many petals left. He ran forward and kicked her, adrenaline giving extra strength to his kick, knocking her away from the rose, then picked it up and started running down the hallway, frantically looking and calling out for somebody, anybody who could help him. Nobody answered, and nobody came. He looked behind him to see that the Lady in Red was somehow still close behind him, dragging herself and the frame forward using her arms. He cried out, startled, when he tripped and fell. He dropped the rose again, and he hurriedly grabbed it, then tried to get back up. His legs refused to cooperate though, and he ended up scuttling into a corner, curling into a ball, and waiting. But nothing happened. He peeked up right as a voice called out.

"Geez, Red, what did you find this time?" The painting was no longer facing him, but had turned its attention down the hallway. "Oh my…" Adam looked over to see a tall man with a long blue coat in front of him, surprise obvious on his face. He crouched down to Adam's level. "Are you… Could you be... someone from the gallery?" Adam nodded. After a short moment, the man gestured to the painting. "I'm sorry that Red scared you. But I'm glad to see that you're okay." He wasn't sure he could trust this man that apparently knew the painting. The man looked down and saw that Adam was holding a rose. He reached in his coat pocket, and Adam attempted to scoot further into the corner, afraid of what he might pull out, but then gasped when he produced a blue rose. The man smiled warmly. "My name is Garry. What's yours?"

Adam didn't answer for a moment. His mother had warned him about talking to strangers… But this man named Garry was the first person he had encountered in quite a while, and he seemed to know what was going on. He decided to answer the question. "A-Adam… Where am I? I thought I was in the gallery, but…" He looked uncomfortably at the Lady in Red, who was just sitting on the floor, playing with her hair.

"Simply put, you're in the world where the paintings live. I can't quite explain myself how or why it even exists, but it's here." Garry stood up and offered Adam his hand. He took it cautiously, making sure that he kept the head of his rose hidden in his hand; he didn't trust that the Lady in Red wouldn't suddenly attack him while he was getting up. He still wasn't entirely convinced that he could trust Garry, either. Garry seemed to notice Adam's distrust of his painted companion as he explained: "The paintings know me. If you're with me, you're safe. She won't hurt you." Adam hesitated, then slowly revealed his almost destroyed rose, and Garry's eyes widened. "We need to get your rose to a vase!" He turned away. "There's one this way. Follow me."

* * *

"I'm assuming that since you hid your rose when I found you, you know how important it is?" Adam nodded as he walked with Garry. "But do you know exactly what it is?" Adam's head shook. "The rose represents your life here. As I'm sure you figured out, as your rose loses its petals, wounds appear on your body. And when your rose loses all of its petals…" Garry shook his head. "You don't want to lose all of your petals."

Adam looked up at Garry curiously. "Why roses?"

Garry was silent for a moment, then replied, "Well, there is a piece called 'Embodiment of Spirit' which is a giant rose sculpture. In this world, most of Guertena's works are given life in one way or another. I think these roses are the way that it was given life, if that makes sense. It works with its title, anyway." Garry stopped. "Here it is." In front of them, up against the wall, there was a small table that had a vase filled with water on it. "If you find a vase with water in it, you can put your rose in it and it'll heal it." He looked at Adam, who seemed to be hesitating. "Go on, put your rose in." Adam put his rose in the vase, and gasped as the rose's petals grew back instantly. "Feel better?" Adam nodded, wide-eyed. Garry smiled at the amazement on Adam's face, but his smile soon faded as long-forgotten memories were dredged up in his mind. Memories of a different child. A child that he made a promise to.

"Garry?" He snapped out of his daydreaming and looked down to see Adam staring up at him.

"Hm? Sorry… I was just thinking. What did you want?"

Adam looked worried as he asked, "How do I get back to the gallery? The way that I came through… I tried to go back, but there was a wall, and…"

"Hmm. That sounds very similar to how I got here. I followed a passage and the wall closed behind me as well. After that, I ran into…" Garry paused when he realized he started to go on a tangent, and answered the boy's question. "...There's only one way out that I know of…" It had closed on him last time, but there was a chance that it would open again since Adam was here. It was worth a shot, at the very least. He had discovered after who-knows-how-long that it was indeed the only exit. But it refused to open for him again, and if what the other works in the twisted gallery said was to be trusted, it never would. For him. But now there was another piece in the equation: Adam. He looked down at the boy, his long-forgotten determination slowly returning. "And I know exactly how to get there."

* * *

Garry soon learned that Adam was quite the opposite of Ib. Whereas Ib had been a very quiet child, Adam would not stop asking questions. He kept asking about the names of paintings and why they were painted and what they were and how old was that sculpture? Garry answered them all as best he could, which was actually fairly well. With as long as he had been here, he managed to learn quite a bit about the world of Guertena. Garry suddenly realized he didn't know exactly how long he had been among Guertena's works. As soon as there was a lull in Adam's inquiries, he cleared his throat. Adam looked up at him.

"Um, Adam… This might sound like a weird question, but… What year is it?" Adam stopped, apparently shocked. Garry wasn't surprised. If he was in Adam's situation, he'd have been shocked too.

"You… don't know what year it is…?" Garry, somewhat embarrassed, shook his head. "How long have you been here…?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out. I don't know exactly how long I've been here… I just know it's been a long time."

Adam paused before answering, "It's 2019."

Now it was Garry's turn to be shocked. When he first came in, it had been 2012. It had been… "...seven years."

"Seven years?! You've been here that long?" Adam's eyes were open wide. "Am I gonna be here that long? What if I'm here longer than that? I don't wanna be stuck here the rest of my life!"

Garry sighed. "Trust me, it is possible to get out." At least, he hoped it was possible. But he didn't want to tell Adam that there was a chance it wouldn't open for him. He didn't want to imagine how he'd react.

Adam became quiet for a minute, leaving them both in rare silence, then spoke up. "If it's possible to get out, why did you stay here for seven years?"

Garry glanced away. "It's… complicated." He looked down the hallway. "C'mon, let's get going." He started walking, making sure that Adam was behind him. He decided that he shouldn't mention that it was even possible for the exit to close at all, and that meant not telling him about Ib. Which was fine, because after a couple minutes, Adam began asking questions about the various works again, none of which had anything to do with her. He inwardly sighed and accepted that he would most likely spend the next little while answering every possible question about the gallery and its works. He supposed there was an upside to it: at least this time he knew the way, as opposed to having to solve puzzles and attempt to navigate mazes and such, taking several hours. Even so, this version of the gallery was fairly large; he estimated that it would take at least half an hour to get to the exit. He realized that Adam was looking expectantly at him; he hadn't answered any of Adam's questions. Seeing that there was no escaping it, he took a deep breath and began talking.

* * *

After a while, Adam ran out of breath. He fell silent as Garry finished answering his last question, and when he finished, he didn't ask another one. He couldn't ask anything else; he was too tired. Garry must have found the silence uncomfortable as he soon asked Adam if he was feeling alright.

"Yeah, I'm fine... I'm just tired."

Garry stopped, and Adam followed suit. "I'm not surprised… We've been doing a lot of walking. Do you want to rest? I can keep watch if you want." Adam nodded, trying to keep his eyes open. "You look like you're about to fall asleep on your feet… There's a room up ahead that we can rest in. Can you stay awake that long?" Adam shook his head. He wanted to lay down right where he was and take a nap. "Alright, here." Garry bent down and picked Adam up, and continued walking. Adam found that it was actually comfortable, and before he knew it, his eyes shut tight and he fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Adam woke with a start, and looked around, alarmed. He didn't recognize where he was, but after a moment he remembered he was in the painting world. Something was weird, though. He was hearing… music? He got up and opened the door to the small room he was in to find a peculiar sight on the other side. The sound of singing floated freely through the air, though he couldn't tell where it was coming from, and in the middle of the hallway, Garry was surrounded by an audience of paintings, dancing with headless mannequins. Adam stopped, half-hidden behind the door, and watched as they elegantly danced and spun around each other, perfectly in time with the song. He opened the door a little bit more so he could see better, and the door creaked loudly, causing the dancing and song to stop as he was suddenly the center of attention. He froze, sure that he was blushing furiously from embarrassment. He wasn't even entirely sure that Garry was fine with him seeing the dance, but Garry smiled at him, then turned and waved as the paintings and mannequins dispersed. He walked over to Adam.

"Hey, Adam. Feeling better?" Adam nodded, not sure what he should say. Garry chuckled. "That must have been the strangest thing you've seen… I can only imagine what you're thinking right now." Adam stood there awkwardly for a second.

"...I didn't know you liked to dance. I didn't know mannequins could dance either." Garry smiled.

"Well, they have arms and legs like humans do, so I don't see why they couldn't dance. Although when I first got here, they didn't know how to. It took a while, but I taught them."

"Where did the singing come from?"

"One of the paintings that Guertena painted. It's a pair of lips."

Adam thought for a moment. Did the lips painting know how to sing on their own? Or… "Did you teach it how to sing?"

Garry smiled a little sheepishly. "It's a possibility." Garry looked around. "Well, if you're rested, do you want to keep going?" Adam nodded again and stepped completely out of the room and shut the door behind him. Garry started walking again, and Adam walked next to him, thinking about what he had seen.

"Garry?"

Garry glanced down. "Hm?"

"Did you stay here because you liked it?"

Garry looked back up. "...No. I doubt whether I liked it or not would have had an effect on me staying here. Like I said earlier, it's complicated."

Adam looked at his feet. "So you do want to get out?"

Garry didn't answer for a minute. Adam almost wondered if he hadn't heard him, but then he replied, "Yes. I do."

Adam had become silent for a while, lost in thought, when he realized that Garry had stopped. He looked up to see a wall in front of him, and looked behind him to see confusion on Garry's face.

"What's wrong, Garry?"

Garry looked around. "There should be a door here… But…" There was nothing but a bare wall in front of them. "It's not here…" Adam froze as he heard a dragging sound behind them, but Garry turned around, so Adam slowly did the same. It was the Lady in Red. "Oh... hey Red." She stopped and looked up at Garry for a second, then continued moving forward, her eyes on the wall. Garry seemed confused by this. "What are you…?" She moved to the corner, and pushed her index finger up against the very bottom. There was a rumbling sound, and a door emerged from the wall, right where Garry had indicated it should be. Adam had already moved behind Garry, still not trusting the Lady in Red, whereas Garry moved closer to her. "Red, how did you know about that?" She glanced down, refusing to meet his eyes. "Why didn't I know about it? Was it maybe a prank?" She still didn't give any sort of answer. Garry sighed. "Well, I guess if you don't want to say anything, I can't make you. But thank you for helping us." He turned and opened the door, then said to Adam, "After you." Adam, eyes on the Lady in Red, almost backed into the room. Garry followed, but they both stopped short when they heard a hiss behind them, and they quickly turned around to see the Lady in Red staring up at Garry. Garry crouched down. "Do you want to come, too?" He turned back around, still crouched, and she climbed up his back and wrapped her arms around his head. She was actually grinning. Adam was terrified.

"We're taking her with us…?" Garry stood back up and smiled at Adam.

"Believe it or not, but she actually travels with me a lot. This is usually how we walk together."

Adam looked up at her uneasily. "She won't try to jump on me or anything, right?"

"Trust me. She won't do anything."

As he looked at her, she met his eyes and bared her teeth at him. He took a step back. Garry started walking again, and Adam waited a few seconds before starting to walk behind him, keeping his eyes on the Lady in Red. But as soon as they started moving, her malice seemed to vanish. She completely ignored Adam, and instead looked around from her perch, a grin on her face. This time, Garry was the one who started asking questions.

"Hey, Adam. How old are you?"

Eyes still on the Lady in Red, he answered, "Eleven." She kept ignoring his existence, which was fine with him, and he eventually relaxed.

"So you must be in middle school, huh?"

"Yeah."

"...Do you like to play sports or anything?"

Adam perked up. "Yeah, I really like to play basketball!" Garry smiled.

"Does your dad play with you a lot then, or did you teach yourself?"

Adam's mood immediately plummeted, and he looked down. "I wish my dad would."

"He doesn't play with his own son? He must be really busy…"

"No… He left a few years ago." Garry was silent for a moment.

"...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"No… It's fine, I guess… Mom's still there, and I have a sister named Sherri. She's pretty cool, but she can be mean to me a lot." Adam continued talking about everyday things, about his school, his family, and his friends. He didn't know why, but it was just so comfortable talking to Garry like this. He gradually cheered back up, and soon he and Garry were exchanging little life experiences and swapping jokes and laughing with each other. A feeling of nostalgia hit him as he realized that he and his dad used to swap banter just like this. Adam imagined what his life would've been like if Garry had been his dad and smiled, happy at the thought. Adam thought of another funny story and opened his mouth to speak when he heard a noise that sounded like a splash right next to him. He stopped, startled, and looked to see that there were words painted on the wall.

_Do you really want to leave?_

"...Garry?"

Garry stopped and looked back at Adam. "Hm?" Adam pointed to the painted text on the wall, and Garry strolled over to look at it. When he saw what it read, his expression hardened. He abruptly turned back down the hallway and started walking again. "Let's keep going." Adam looked nervously back at the text, wondering where it came from, then scurried to catch up to Garry. Silence took over, and Adam looked up at Garry. Tension was obvious on his face. Even the Lady in Red's grin was gone.

"Garry?" Garry glanced down at him. "Why are you worried?"

Garry looked back up. "I just don't know how the works here will react to me…" He glanced around with his eyes, as if he was afraid someone was listening. "...wanting to leave." As soon as the words left his mouth, there was another splash to Adam's left. More words.

_Please don't leave… We'll miss you._

Garry must have noticed it, as he stopped and stared at them for a few seconds. "But I have to. I… I promised I would." After a pause, he again turned and this time kept walking as more splashes followed him down the hallway. Adam followed him as well, stopping and reading every phrase.

_You don't have to!_

_ Don't go!_

_ Stop… Please._

Adam involuntarily shivered when he reached the last one.

_We won't let you._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Adam! Over here!" Adam stopped running and turned towards Garry's voice, and found him next to an open door. "They can't open doors on their own! C'mon!" He dashed towards the door, but suddenly stopped when a mannequin came around the corner in front of him, blocking his way.

"Aah! G-Garry! Help...!" He backed up, and looked behind him to see that the Lady paintings had slowed down. There was no need to chase him anymore. He was theirs now. A loud thud interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to see that the mannequin was face-down on the floor, with Garry behind it. Garry held out his hand towards Adam.

"Come on!" Adam quickly moved towards Garry, when he himself face-planted. One of the Lady paintings had grabbed his ankle, tripping him. He tried to kick it off and Garry tried to pull him away, but it would not let go, and the other paintings were almost on him. Suddenly, the Lady in Red leaped down from her perch on Garry's head and landed on top of the Lady that held Adam's ankle, who hissed, surprised, and let go. Adam got up and took off as fast as he could, and ran through the door right behind Garry. He turned to shut the door just as the Lady in Red pulled herself through, and slammed it shut. The trio heaved a huge sigh of relief, and rested up against the wall, panting. Ever since the messages in the hallway, the hallways kept changing and the paintings and other works became noticeably more and more against Garry's leaving, to the point where they were ambushed in the halls. "That was… too close..." Adam silently agreed, trying to calm down his pounding heart, but it wouldn't stop. "Let's rest here for a little bit…" Garry leaned his head back against the wall. "I have to admit, though… It's nice to sit down after being on my feet for so long…"

Adam looked around to find large bookshelves all over the room; it was a somewhat small library. After a few minutes, he stood up and began to walk around, looking at the books. Even though Garry protested at first to Adam leaving, when he realized what he was doing, he relaxed. He flipped through several books, and almost jumped out of his skin when one fell off the shelf. He turned just in time to see the Lady in Red pull herself around the end of the bookshelf and out of his sight. He walked over to see that it had fallen open. Or maybe the Lady in Red opened it? She might've ran off because she was embarrassed to be seen reading… But why would that be embarrassing? He picked up the book to put it back when one of the pictures caught his eye. It was Garry. Adam gasped. He didn't know Garry was famous enough to have his picture in a book! He sat down on the floor and eagerly began reading.

* * *

Garry opened his eyes and looked around, then bolted upright when he realized he didn't see either Adam or Red. Had he fallen asleep? He had been pretty tired earlier, but he didn't mean to fall asleep… He stood up.

"Adam! Are you still in here?" He walked around, looking for Adam and Red. He heard no reply, and his heart began pounding faster. Where was Adam? His slow walk almost became a jog, until he finally spotted him. Adam was sitting on the floor with Red, reading a book. "Oh, there you are… You scared me when you didn't answer…" Garry suddenly realized he recognized the book. It was a journal written in crayon. But why did Adam have it? "...Adam, where did you get that...?"

Adam's head shot up. He had tears in his eyes. "You…"

"What's wrong?" Garry walked closer and crouched down to Adam's level, but Adam backed away from him quickly. Garry was absolutely confused. "Adam?"

"You… you lied!"

Garry was taken aback by this. "Wha-? What did I lie about?"

"Being from the gallery! It's in that book right there!" Adam pointed to the book that was next to Garry's feet. _A List of Guertena's Creations_. "You're a painting! You just want me to open the way back to the gallery so you can leave by yourself!" Garry was at a complete loss for words. How did Adam know about the exit? And how could he have guessed his motives so wrongly?

"Adam, I'm not… I don't…" Garry took a breath. "Can I ask you something? How did you know about the exit? What makes you think I want to leave by myself? And how did you get that journal?" Adam glared defiantly at him.

"I know about the exit from this!" He pointed again, this time to the wall. Garry looked up at it to see painted words all over it. He read only a few phrases, but what he did read told him enough. Something had told Adam about the exit, that it was only going to open for him, and lied about Garry's personality entirely, telling Adam that he was being tricked and used.

"Who…?" He looked down at the base of the wall to find a blue doll with a permanent smile affixed on its face, staring up at him.

"As for the journal, the Lady in Red gave it to me!" Garry, feeling betrayed, looked down at Red. She refused to meet his eyes. "And here's what it says: 'I want to leave this place myself and live outside! But unless I take the place of someone from outside, it seems I can't do that.' You were planning to leave me here and take my place! You were gonna abandon me, just like my-" Adam stopped, and tears were flowing freely down his face. "You… you were like a dad to me… If you're abandoning me, I guess you are just like him!"

Garry was shocked. It was true that he had gotten very attached to Adam, but he didn't know Adam thought of him like that. Learning of it now only made his accusations hurt. "No, Adam, I'm not-"

"Shut up! I don't wanna listen any more!" At this, Adam threw the journal at Garry, who barely reacted in time to catch it, and took off running towards the door.

"Adam! Wait!" The door slammed shut behind Adam. Garry stood there for a minute, speechless, then turned to Red and the doll. "Why did you lie to him?!" He looked at the doll expectantly, waiting for an answer. Sure enough, blue paint appeared on the wall above it.

_Without him, you can't get out._

"This was all because you want me to stay?! Changing the halls, attacking us, lying to Adam..." Garry clenched his teeth. "Look, trying to get me to stay this way isn't convincing me! How do you expect me to just leave him to wander alone in the gallery where he could easily get lost, especially with everybody starting to atta-" But that's exactly what he was doing. Adam was alone now; he could be in serious danger! Garry turned and quickly headed towards the door, and stopped when he heard a familiar hiss. He turned to find Red staring at him expectantly. He didn't move towards her and bend down for her to climb on. Instead, he turned back around. "Not this time, Red." The door shutting behind him echoed endlessly in the empty hallway. Who knew how far Adam could have gotten by now?

He started running.

* * *

Adam slowed down, finally coming to a halt. He collapsed to his knees, panting. His thoughts started to wander to Garry, and he quickly stopped them. He couldn't allow himself to think about him, or he might start crying again. He had to get out, quickly. He looked behind him to make sure he wasn't being followed, then got up and started walking again. Garry knew the way out; he had the clear advantage. All that would need to happen was for Garry to reach the exit first… He pushed the thought away. As he walked through the corridors, he saw more paintings on the walls that he had never seen before. He wanted to know about them, but… he had no one to ask now. One painting in particular caught his attention. It was labeled "Red Eyes," but it didn't have anything in the frame; it was just a blue painting. Where were the eyes? He thought that maybe he had to look closely to see them, but he didn't have time to look closely at it. He had to find the exit. He turned and kept walking, but soon a loud thud behind him stopped him. A mannequin, maybe? But when he turned around, he found something even scarier: it was a giant blue doll with large red eyes, matted black hair, and a huge, red, jagged smile cut into its face. It was large enough that its hands were almost as big as he was. And it was coming towards him. Adam wanted to scream, but no sound came out. So instead, he turned and ran.

* * *

Garry had been hoping that he went in the same direction Adam took, but when he saw a confirmation, his heart dropped to his stomach. There was an orange rose petal on the floor. He ran faster, praying that Adam was safe.

* * *

This was bad.

Some regular blue dolls had joined the giant one. And now a few mannequins joined them, as well as more Lady paintings. Adam, hiding his already damaged rose with his hands, had his back against the wall. He was completely surrounded.

This was really bad.

* * *

Garry almost froze when he saw Adam. He was being held up against the wall by Red Eyes, but he wasn't struggling. His eyes were barely open, and he was hanging limply from the giant doll's hand. Mannequins, paintings, and dolls were in a small crowd away from the two. Garry couldn't see what they were doing, but he had a horrible feeling that he already knew. He ran towards them, yelling at them to stop, but they ignored him. He tried to get past them, trying to reach the object that was the center of their attention: an orange rose that was now being torn apart. "Stop it!" The mannequins moved and blocked him. "Stop!" More petals fluttered to the ground, and the paintings pushed him back. "Give it to me!" He was shoved to the ground, and scrambled back up. The rose had two petals. "No!" One petal.

"I'LL STAY!"

All activity froze, and the works turned to face him. He took in a shaky breath. "I'll stay. Just… just don't kill him. Let me show him how to get out, and I'll stay here. Please." Everything was still. Nothing moved. Then there was a splash. He looked at the wall.

_Promise?_

Garry swallowed nervously. He was a very honest man who never broke his promises, whatever they may be, and they all knew this. And yet… If he said no, Adam would certainly die. He looked at the small crowd, steadied his voice, and replied, "Yes." He heard a small thump behind him, and looked to see that Red Eyes had let go of Adam, who was now lying motionless on the floor. He turned back to see that the works had vanished, leaving a mess of petals and a rose stalk with a single petal on it. He picked it up and tucked it in his pocket, then walked over to Adam. He was unconscious, but at least he was still breathing. Garry was almost shaking with relief that he had managed to reach Adam just in time. If he had arrived even a second later… He didn't want to think about it. He scooped up Adam and started walking down the hallway.


	5. Chapter 5

Adam jerked awake and clumsily scrambled to his feet, but he started to calm down when he realized he wasn't surrounded by hostile art. He tried to think about where he was. The last thing he remembered was the mannequins tearing his rose away from him and the giant blue doll holding him up against the wall as the mannequins and paintings tore it apart. Something else tickled his memory: a figure coming to his rescue when he was on the verge of unconsciousness. He glanced around. He was in a hallway, but not the same hallway he was in when he was attacked. Footsteps echoed in the hall and Adam froze. He couldn't help but think that it was the giant doll again, and fear temporarily paralyzed him. But it wasn't the doll. He saw a person with purple hair and a long blue coat walk around the corner, then stop when they saw that he was awake.

"Oh, you've woken up. ...Good."

It couldn't be… Was Garry really the one who saved him? Adam mentally slapped himself. Of course it was Garry. He needed Adam to get out. Adam scowled at Garry, who walked towards him. But he became alarmed when he realized that Garry was holding his rose.

"Hey!" He started to grab for it. "Give that back!" Garry backed up, startled, which inadvertently kept the rose out of reach.

"Calm down! I'm not going to damage it!" Adam, realizing the disadvantage he was in, stopped and simply glared at Garry, who sighed. "Now I'm getting off to a bad start. Look, I was going to just give it to you anyways." He held it forward. "But I just want to ask that you listen to what I have to say. After that, if you don't want me around, I won't bother you again."

Adam snatched the rose away. "...Fine." He sat down against the wall and listened.

Garry breathed in, and breathed out. He had to choose his words carefully. "I know I've been withholding things from you. Things about me. And I'm sorry about that. I… I didn't want to make you worry." Adam's expression hardened. This was not a good start. "I know it doesn't sound true, but it is… I didn't want to tell you about the possibility that the exit would close… Which meant not telling you about when I came here. ...I suppose I'll start from the beginning." He took a deep breath, then began talking. He talked about when he met Ib, running from Mary, the promise that he made to Ib; he talked about the whole of their adventure. But when he reached the end, his voice began to crack. Even after seven years, it was still difficult to think about, much less talk about, the time when he took a second too long. When the way out closed. When he became a painting.

He reached into a pocket on the inside of his coat, and pulled out something that, for years, he forgot he even had. A white lace handkerchief. The blood on it had been washed out after Ib left. Garry had gone back to the sketchbook and washed it in the small pond there until all traces of red were gone. "I still need to give this back to her. I promised her that I would find a way out. That's why I was traveling with you. You were right about that. But what you were wrong about was me trying to replace you. That journal that you found, or rather that Red brought you, belonged to Mary. She wrote that. And while it was true for her, it's not true for me." At least, he hoped so. "If I'm right, because I never went back, there should be a spot out there that was never taken. I simply want to take my place in the world again. Both of us should be able to get out." Garry stopped, not sure what else to say. Adam wasn't looking at him anymore, instead gazing down at the floor. Garry wondered if he fell asleep, but Adam began to stand up. He still didn't meet Garry's eyes. They stood there like that for a slightly awkward minute until Adam mumbled something that Garry couldn't quite hear. "What did you say? I... couldn't hear you."

"You can come… Sorry." A smile grew on Garry's face.

"It... It's fine… Should we get going? The exit isn't too far from here." Adam nodded and Garry turned and started walking. As they walked, he started talking about the paintings on the walls, as a way to show Adam that everything really was alright now. He heard a sniffle come from Adam's direction, and he stopped. Adam wiped his eyes. Alarmed, Garry crouched down. Adam's cheeks were wet. "H-hey, what's wrong?"

Another sniff. "I'm… I'm scared…" Garry, not quite sure how to respond, put his hand on Adam's shoulder.

"Hey… It's okay… You're going to be fine." He wasn't surprised Adam was scared. He didn't know exactly how Adam ended up how he found him, but if it had to do with Red Eyes, he was sure it had been absolutely terrifying for Adam. Red Eyes terrified Garry the first time he ran into it, and he was an adult. He could only imagine how scary it had been for Adam. "You're fine. Red Eyes isn't going to come back." Garry thought for a moment. "Would you like for me to hold your rose? Would that make you feel safer?" Adam didn't respond at first, then slowly reached in his pocket and pulled out his orange rose and held it out to Garry, who, in turn, placed it in his own pocket. "And just to be fair…" Garry pulled out his own rose and gave it to Adam. "You don't need to worry about the paintings trying to take that one. I don't think… I don't think they'll try to hurt me." And this way, Adam wouldn't need to feel threatened by Garry, but he didn't feel like telling him that. He stood back up. "Well… Are you ready to go?" Adam sniffed one more time, wiped his eyes dry, and nodded. Garry smiled. "Good." He looked around, and his eyes settled on a painting. "Now this painting is called…"

* * *

Adam knew for a while now that they were being followed, but he didn't dare look back. He could tell that Garry knew, too; he kept looking behind them. But as long as Garry wasn't really worried, he didn't need to be scared. Besides, Garry had his rose now, and he had Garry's. The paintings wouldn't be able to take his rose from Garry. He was too strong. Or at least, Adam thought he was. He kept thinking about what Garry told him earlier and whether he was telling the truth or not. He supposed that now he didn't have much of a choice but to trust Garry. Besides, he did have the handkerchief as proof. And he saved his life. The least Adam could do was be grateful. And trusting. Adam sighed quietly. Really, he felt a little stupid for trusting the Lady in Red and that doll more than he trusted Garry. The Lady in Red tried to kill him when they first met, and the doll… Adam shivered. He didn't want to think about any more dolls. Suddenly a thought struck him. Anybody could still hurt him without the rose. The rose was just a quicker way to do it. He felt fear creep back into his body, and tears start to form again as thoughts of the giant doll coming after him invaded his mind. He blinked them back. He couldn't cry again. No. He was eleven years old. He was in middle school now. He could be strong. And yet he was almost shaking with fear. He kept wanting to look back, to see what was behind them. But Garry looked back again, and simply kept walking, no worry on his face. Adam made himself look forward, and before he even realized it, he had grabbed Garry's hand. Garry faltered in his speech for a second, apparently caught off guard, but he kept going. Although Adam was embarrassed that he was holding Garry's hand, he surprisingly felt safer. It was like he was walking with his dad. Adam shook his head. He didn't think he deserved to think of Garry like that. Not after yelling at him and running off and nearly getting himself killed. He looked up at Garry, who was still talking. He wondered if Garry considered himself Adam's friend, or if he was just with him until they both got out. ...No, he had to be a friend. He kept making sure that Adam wasn't just alive, but that he felt safe and comforted. But something was bothering him.

"Hey, Garry."

"Hm?"

"What did you say the girl's name was? The one that was here before?"

"Her name is Ib." Garry got that look in his eyes again; the same one that he had when he was telling Adam his story. He had an almost faraway, sad look in his eyes.

Adam was silent for a moment. "You never said what she looked like."

"She had long, brown hair and big, red eyes. She was dressed nicely... She was also very quiet… Why do you ask?"

Adam thought for a moment to compare the image that Garry gave him and the person that he thought of. "...How old was she?"

"She was nine. Again, why do you ask?" If it had been seven years since then, she would be… sixteen. Sherri's age. He was right.

"I… I think I know her." Garry stopped and stared at Adam.

"Really?! You… You know Ib? How is she?"

Adam faltered. "W-well… She's fine, I guess... I… I could take you to her when we get out, if you want." Garry had a huge smile on his face.

"Yes, that would be… Thank you!" After a pause, Garry started walking again, and Adam noticed that his steps seemed just a little bit lighter now. He thought back to when Garry was talking about his promise. He said that he was going to get both Ib and him out and take her to try some macarons. Adam was honestly a little jealous of Ib. He thought that spending a day with Garry, not having to worry about needing to run for his life at any second, would be kinda fun. Besides, he'd always wanted to try macarons.

Garry suddenly stopped. Adam stopped as well and saw that Garry was staring at something behind him intently. Adam finally made himself look, and to his relief, it wasn't the giant blue doll. It was a mannequin. Two of them, actually. Garry bent down next to him and whispered, "These guys aren't gonna stop following us… We need to lose them. Follow me closely." Adam nodded, and Garry stood up and turned around a corner into a narrow hallway, and Adam was practically right on his heels. Garry turned left, right, left again, and again, then right. There were no more paintings on the walls, and everything looked the same. Then it hit him: they were in a maze. They turned right again. Adam wanted to talk, but he was scared that his voice would tell the mannequins where they were. Garry looked behind them, and his face relaxed. They must have lost them. After several more silent turns, they emerged into a larger hallway. They were out. Adam glanced behind them, and didn't see anything. He let out a small sigh of relief, then turned back and realized Garry was a little ways ahead of him. He ran to catch up, but he had to almost jog to actually stay with Garry, who was walking as fast as possible.

"Garry, why are you walking so fast?"

Garry didn't even look at him, instead seeming to concentrate on navigating the halls. "I want us to reach the exit well ahead of them."

"Are we almost there?" Garry nodded.

"It's this staircase right here." Garry stopped and gestured to a dark staircase. "Be careful and watch your step." Adam attempted to swallow back fear. He didn't like the dark. Garry bent down and held his shoulders. "Hey, you're gonna be fine. It's just down this staircase, then through a painting. That's it. We'll both make it out alright, I promise. And I don't break my promises." Garry stood back up and went on down the stairs without even hesitating and disappeared into the darkness. Adam took a deep breath and followed him.

* * *

"Alright, we're here." Garry looked behind them again. No mannequins. He breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't think they know we're here yet." He hurried over to the all-too-familiar mural, Adam trailing behind him. "Ok, so how exactly does this work…?" The frame had to come off so they could get through, but it didn't budge. "…Maybe I need to read the plaque again? I think it came off when I read the title last time…" He looked at the plaque. "Fabricated World."

Nothing happened.

Garry stood awkwardly, waiting.

"I don't think that's it, Garry." Adam sounded disappointed.

"No, but last time, I read it and it came off! Why won't it happen again?! We have to be able to jump into it!"

Adam opened his mouth to reply, but they both shut their eyes tight as a bright flash illuminated the room. As Garry expected, when the flash was gone, so was the frame. He turned to Adam.

"Alright, we've got to hurry. C'mon, I'll help you-" Garry was cut off as he was suddenly jerked backwards. "Wha-?!" Two mannequins had him firmly pinned up against the wall opposite the mural, with a hand on both of his shoulders. Adam stood by the mural, horrified as Garry struggled to break free. "Adam! Go through!" Adam hesitantly turned to the mural, and looked back. "Go! You don't want it to close on you!" Adam looked ready to cry, but he turned around and pulled himself up and into the mural, then turned back to face Garry.

"Garry, come on! You can… you can shake them off, right? Just tell them to leave you alone! You're a painting; they- they'll listen to you, right?"

Garry shook his head. "That won't work. They… they won't let go until the frame's back. They want me to stay. That's why they only attacked you and tried to separate us… Without you, I couldn't leave."

"But… You can't stay again! You won't be able to keep your promise!" Garry looked at Adam's face. It was wet with tears. "Besides… You promised me you'd get out this time, too! You said we'd get out together! And you said you never break your promises!"

Garry lowered his head. He wouldn't be able to get out just using brute force; he tried a different tactic. "I… I guess I'm going to have to break that promise… I… I'm sorry. I'm staying here. …There's no point in even trying to break their grip." Garry closed his eyes, waiting.

"N-no! Don't say that! You can do it, Garry…! You can… you…" Adam broke down and started sobbing. Hearing it, Garry couldn't help but let tears slide down his face, even though he fully intended to make it out. …But this was taking too long. The frame would be back any second. He could have very well misjudged the mannequins... He was stupid to think that they would fall for something like this. There was no way that- No, wait. The mannequins' grips loosened. This was his chance! He shot forward, successfully breaking free, but he didn't stop. He kept going, running until he jumped into the painting. When he landed, he looked behind him to see that the mannequins were pounding on the outside, unable to get through. He must have made it in right before the frame reappeared. He heaved a shaky sigh of relief, and wiped his tears off of his face.

"That was too close for comfort…" He was almost knocked off of his feet when a sobbing Adam tackled him in a hug. He looked down at Adam for a second, surprised, then returned the hug. "Hey, it's alright. I'm here. It's gonna be okay. We're both making it out this time." After a pause, he pulled Adam away from him, and crouched down to his level, hands on Adam's shoulders. "I'm sorry for worrying you and making you cry." Adam started to clean his face with his sleeve. "…But thank you."

Adam paused, looking confused. "For what?" Garry smiled.

"If you hadn't come here, I wouldn't have been able to make it out. Not only did you make it possible for the way back out to open, but you also reminded me of what I set out to do a long time ago. Thanks to you, I'll finally be able to do it." Garry stood back up, and offered his hand to Adam.

"…Hey Garry? Can I go too? To the café you talked about?"

Garry chuckled. "I don't see why not. We can all go!" Adam smiled and took his hand, and he turned his back to the gallery. There was nothing but a white emptiness all around them. "If I'm right, there's a drop right here. Don't worry; it leads to the exit. And if you're scared, just remember that I'm here with you. …Are you ready?" Adam hesitated, then nodded. "Alright, on three. One… two… three." They stepped forward, and closed their eyes as their feet went over the edge.


	6. Chapter 6

Garry blinked his eyes open and looked around. He was in the gallery. He was actually in the gallery. He took a second to get his bearings, then realized that Adam wasn't with him. He started navigating through the crowds, looking, when he saw a flash of blonde to his right. He turned to see a familiar figure duck behind a sculpture. Adam! But what was he doing? Garry slowly made his way over. "...Adam?" Adam's head shot up, and they stared at each other for a minute. Adam made no move to greet Garry. As a matter of fact, he looked a little scared. "Um… What's wrong? Aren't you happy we made it out?" Adam backed out from behind the sculpture, staring at Garry as if… as if he didn't know who he was. "...Don't you recognize me? It's me, Ga-"

"STRANGER DANGER!" Adam screamed as he ran off, running right into a teenage girl. Garry stared after him, startled by the sudden yelling and confused that Adam called him a stranger.

"Adam! What are you doing here?!" Garry realized that the teenager knew his friend, or at least who he thought was his friend. He wasn't sure what to think of Adam calling him a stranger. But as he looked at the teen, he realized that she looked almost exactly how Adam had described his sister to him. What did he say her name was…? Sharon? No… Sher… Sher… something. Sherri! That was it. But he didn't know the brunette next to her. He suddenly realized Sherri was marching up to him with fire in her eyes. "What did you do to my brother?!" Garry took a step back, surprised.

"Uh, no, I… I just wanted to ask him if he knew where I could find Ib, I-"

"And what do _you_, someone in... what, your twenties? Want to do with _my best friend_, who is a teenager, you _pervert!_" Garry took another step back, alarmed.

"Ah! N-no, it's nothing like that, I swear! I just wanted give this back to her!" He immediately pulled the handkerchief out of his pocket and braced himself for another barrage of harsh words.

"A handkerchief? I've never seen her with it, not once! I think that you're trying to trick the both of us! Well, we aren't falling for it!" She turned back to her companions. "Come on, let's go." She started to walk away, but was stopped by the other teen with her.

"Wait." Garry glanced at her, and saw that she was staring at him intently. "How did you get that?"

Sherri looked at her, confused. "Wait, you're not saying that's actually yours, are you?" The teen slowly nodded.

"I… think so… but… I lost it years ago…" She slowly walked up to Garry, who didn't dare to move for fear that he'd be subject to Sherri's sharp tongue again. She took the handkerchief from him, and inspected it closely, and gasped. "This really is mine!" She looked back up at Garry. "Who are you? How did you get this?"

Garry stood there, shocked. Did she really not remember him? "Do you… do you really not… remember…?" He looked back at Adam, who was standing behind his sister, cautiously peering at him from over her shoulder. What was wrong with them? Why didn't they remember? He turned his attention back to Ib. "You don't remember the gallery, seven years ago? You don't remember Mary, or the Lady in Red, or the dolls and the mannequins? What about our roses?" Ib stared blankly at him. Garry gaped at her, at a loss for words.

"…Hold on." Garry's attention was brought back to Adam, who had come out from behind his sister. "Wait a second… The Lady in Red… Dolls… And roses…" Adam's eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. "There's something… Something…" He thought for several moments, then his head shot up, and their eyes met. "…Garry?"

A smile grew on Garry's face. Adam remembered! "Yes!" And if Adam remembered, then so could Ib.

"I don't know why I forgot, but…" Adam looked at Ib, who held his gaze. "You must've forgotten too." He ran over to Ib. "Ib! This is Garry, remember? He told me all about when you guys were stuck in the gallery together and he helped you get out!" Ib stared blankly at him, then looked at Garry, who stepped forward.

"Ib, what about when you got back my blue rose for me? Or what about when we fell in the toy box? Or… or the lemon candy that I gave you!" Ib's eyes widened.

"You even know about the candy I found in my pocket…!" She closed her eyes in thought.

"Your rose was red, remember? And… and there were eyes on the floor! And blue dolls! And-" Ib's eyes shot open.

"I remember running from blue dolls…" Adam shivered at this. "I… I remember a Lady in Blue… and burning a painting…" Ib looked up at Garry. "With your lighter! And that's why you have my handkerchief- I gave it to you to bandage your hand when the shattered glass cut it!" A huge smile grew on Garry's face. "It's been seven years… But you found a way out."

"…Yeah, it took a while… I even forgot about the outside world…." Garry realized there were tears running down his face. "But then Adam came, and he brought my determination back."

"Ok, what are you even talking about? I'm totally clueless." Sherri stepped forward, confusion obvious on her face. "What about roses? And… eyes on the floor?! Gross! And who's Mary?" Garry looked at her, wiped the tears from his face, then thought of something. He looked back at Ib and Adam, a smile still on his face.

"How about we go to a café? We can explain everything to her while we all share some macarons."

Ib happily nodded. "Sounds like a good idea to me." She turned back to Sherri. "How about it? Want some macarons and a good story?"

Sherri looked at Garry uncomfortably. "I don't know… Are you sure we can-"

"Trust me, he's perfectly fine. C'mon, let's go!"

Adam chipped in as well. "Yeah, and we have plenty of time until supper, too! Pleeaassee?"

Sherri sighed, outnumbered. "Fine."

As they walked towards the entrance, Garry looked back at the paintings and sculptures, surprised that he felt a little sad leaving the gallery. As much as he hated it at first, he had grown to accept it and even began to like it after a while. And then Adam had come along.

"Garry!" He turned around to find that the others were already outside. He glanced back one more time, smiled, then turned and walked out of the gallery doors.


End file.
